The five traits to look for when hiring

- In my research, I've found that cultural fit is one of the most important pieces of hiring criteria by managers, often over experience, and course work, and GPA, and education. I know you probably worked hard in school, but the truth is very few hiring managers care about your GPA. A lot of people are smart enough to do a particular job, but not as many have the right personality traits that align with the rest of the team. Hiring for certain hard skills will always change based on your needs as well as your customers, but someone's key personality traits tend to stay with them. If you don't get along with your employee, or if they don't have the right attitude or work ethic, it will negatively impact the entire team. There are five personality traits that are helpful to look for when recruiting for any team. The first personality trait you should look for is a candidate that displays confidence. Confident employees share new ideas and stand up for what they believe in. When you're confident, you know what you're doing and how to convey your knowledge to others. When you lack confidence, you second guess yourself and can create a perception that you're incompetent even if you're not. A lack of confidence permeates through your team and hurts everyone's overall performance. The second personality trait to look for is a positive attitude. You want to hire employees who have a positive attitude, because they'll boost morale and really encourage and motivate other team members to perform better. Employees with a negative attitude can get in the way of performance and can be horrible to be around. They can really subtract from the overall culture of the company and cause others to want to switch teams or leave entirely. So look for positive people who can make a difference on your team. The third personality trait to look for is professionalism or how they conduct themselves in front of you and the rest of your team. Signs of professionalism include showing up to the interview on time or early and displaying good manners. The second the candidate enters the room, you can make a quick judgment if they're professional enough to work in your organization. The fourth personality trait is likeability. I have two friends who really have the likeability factor. You just naturally want to be around them, because they exude positive energy. When you're with them, they really bring out the best version of you. You feel like nothing can go wrong, and it's comforting. In the workplace, those who are likable have an incredible competitive advantage, because they tend to establish the strongest relationships quickly, which leads to new opportunities. The fifth personality trait is curiosity. You want candidates that have natural curiosity about your background, your executives, products, company, and industry. Those that are curious about their own potential and are willing to try new tasks are better able to adapt to change. They'll be more likely to challenge themselves to grow as a team member. Looking for these personality traits allows you to create more synergies among your teammates and increases the likelihood they'll be committed to a longterm career with your company. We spend so much time at work, so why not do everything you can to have stronger relationships with those you hire?